Man violently shoved as NY police enforce curfew

Police in Buffalo, New York appeared to shove a man violently to the ground on Thursday evening shortly after a curfew imposed to curb violent protests in the wake of the George Floyd's death came into force.

State and City Police came across the unidentified man as they swept through the area of Niagara Square directly in front of City Hall to clear the area where a protest was finishing.

Buffalo enforced an 8 p.m. curfew Thursday night.

Video from Spectrum News Buffalo and other local media showed a Buffalo police officer appearing to shove a man who walked up to police clearing Niagara Square. The man falls straight backward and hits his head on the pavement, with blood leaking out as officers walk past.

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said the unidentified man is 75 years old, and in “stable but serious” condition at a hospital, according to a statement released late Thursday in which the mayor said he was “deeply disturbed” by the video.

Buffalo police initially said in a statement that a person “was injured when he tripped & fell," WIVB-TV reported, but Capt. Jeff Rinaldo later told the TV station that an internal affairs investigation was opened. Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood suspended two officers late Thursday, the mayor's statement said.

Cuomo tweeted that the incident caught on video was “wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful,” endorsing the officers' suspension. The state attorney general's office tweeted that they were aware of the video.

Calls and emails to Buffalo police from The Associated Press seeking comment weren't immediately returned.

New York City's first citywide curfew in decades is set to remain in effect through at least Sunday, with the city planning to lift it at the same time it enters the first phase of reopening after more than two months of shutdowns because of the coronavirus.